BRAINCAKEFibrous Proteins
Fibrous proteins are long, thin proteins made of polypeptide chains arranged in parallel to form fibres or sheets.
Their key features are:
• a repetitive primary structure: the same short sequence of amino acids repeats many times, so the chains form regular structures
• little or no tertiary folding: chains stay long rather than folding into a ball
• many cross-links between chains (hydrogen bonds, and covalent bonds such as disulfide bridges), which make them strong
• many hydrophobic R groups on the outside, so they are insoluble in water
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Key terms in this lesson
- keratin
- A fibrous, insoluble structural protein rich in disulfide bridges, found in hair, nails, horns and skin.
- elastin
- A fibrous protein able to stretch and recoil, found in the walls of arteries, the skin and the lungs.
More in Biological Molecules
- Amino-acids
- Hydrogen Bonding
- Disulfide Bridges
- Ionic Bonds
- Protein Structure
- Globular Proteins
- Collagen
- Conjugated Proteins
All 25 lessons in Biological Molecules · All Edexcel AS-level Biology topics